Big Doin's at Bass Pro Today

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

We will go. I have been waiting for this reopening since they shut down the previous exhibit! Can't say how often I have been to their construction website to review progress over the years.

     I take it your invite got lost in the mail ?

Billethead

[Johnsfolly]

1 minute ago, BilletHead said:

     I take it your invite got lost in the mail ?

Billethead

You think that for the amount of money I spend there that I should have received an invite !

[moguy1973]

3 hours ago, TroutRinger said:

Johnny Morris does not do free. $138 with tax for a family of four (assuming children are under 11).

And before we restart the Johnny bashing debate, I believe he has every right to charge whatever the heck he wants for attractions that he builds. Nobody is forced to go to any of them, and he just won't get my money. I do still regularly shop at BPS stores.  

My daughter thinks that the Springfield store is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  It's like a mini-zoo to her.  I'm surprised there isn't an entrance fee to see the aquariums and exhibits in the store.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Both Big cedar and dogwood canyon have great museums too. 

Not cheap but very well done. 

[Phil Lilley]

The museum at TOR is incredible!

[Ketchup]

Im with Phil.  I dont believe the admission fee is that steep, to see such beauty.  I spent 6 weeks there building the concrete piers for the tank.  I figured with the money i made off of him in that 6 week period "union carpenter" that i can afford to take the family as soon as the rush crowd dies down.  We are very fortunate to live so close to all that JM has built. Some drive days to see these things.  Heck, i spent $45 to just going to Taco Bell and McDonalds.  Dont get me talking about the bill for the group at Lamberts.  

[Ketchup]

KVD is enjoying the new sights. 

[Bass Yakker]

Is there a scholarship program for the admission fee?  If not there should be.

[MrGiggles]

I'm hoping there will be a combo deal or promotion on half price Ozarks or somewhere like that after the initial rush. 40 dollars is a little steep for me.

I don't like BPS, most everything is overpriced 10 or 15℅, but they're the only place around that you can get flicker shads and some other things, so I don't really have a choice about shopping there now and then.

[kjackson]

I toured the place Wednesday on a media preview.  It surpasses the Museum of Natural History in New York--at least the wildlife part did. The aquarium side is beyond belief as well.  My wife asked me what I thought was the coolest thing--the most impressive-- and I really had to think hard.  Zane Grey's day boat? The sister ship to Hemingway's Pilar?  The three-story circular aquarium with the bait ball constantly circling? Department of the Interior Secretary Zinke in the shark tank answering questions from the WOO kids?  (He was in a full-face breathing mask at the front of the aquarium  with two other divers to ward off the sharks. The Goliath Grouper got a bit too close at one point, though.)  I also was fond of the piranha tanks where, if you're agile, you can "swim" with the piranhas.  

I finally settled on the musk ox display: there was a small herd of the animals in a defensive circle with half a dozen wolves trying to get to the calf they were protecting. When I was there, it was dark, and the aurora borealis was in the night sky, constantly changing.  I didn't see the rest of the day-to-dark loop, but that sight was pretty impressive. I also liked the pride of lions surrounding the hunter's tent with the sky turning light in the east.  I watched that for a while to see the light change, but left before "sunrise".  

While the price is steep, IMO, it is worth it. When I go back, I'll pick one side or the other and focus. The group I was in did both plus the Zinke presentation, and it was a long day.  I ended feeling like I'd done 10 miles with a fairly heavy pack.  It's a big place; it really is.  And it's incredible. The quality of the exhibits and the effort of all involved is hard to imagine without seeing it yourself.  It really is one of those places you have to see at least once.